Wild Wing- Team Mascot
by FishyFloat
Summary: Wildwing couldn't tear his eyes away from the monstrosity before him. The six foot tall, grotesquely misshapen duck cheerfully bobbing from side to side and waving at him was an abomination that never should have seen the darkest midnight, much less the inside of his locker room.
1. Introducing, Wild Wing

**AN:** Welcome to my newest foray into the realm of the Ducks! This is going to be a short, fun story that I hope to complete within a week or so. It's actually helping to set the scene for the story I want to work on after this. Oh, trust me, you will _love_ it. But, first, I have to introduce another headache for Wildwing and show you a little bit more of the world that professional hockey players experience! I assure you, there will be more after this initial chapter ;) Enjoy!

* * *

"No."

Wildwing couldn't tear his eyes away from the monstrosity before him. He regarded the Frankenstein creation with a mixture of disgust, repulsion, and shock.

"I'll let Dragaunus take over Anaheim before I let that _thing_ out onto the ice."

The six foot tall, grotesquely misshapen duck cheerfully bobbing from side to side and waving at him was an abomination that never should have seen the darkest midnight, much less the inside of his locker room. Its swollen head bore a mockery of The Mask of Drake DuCaine and a ridiculous tuft of feathery plumage rose above it in a teased imitation of Grin's topknot. What looked like a lighter-weight version of a hockey uniform cloaked its supposedly avian body. Yes, that was indeed a tail sticking out the back of the white pants. Its bright orange, very plasticine feet were protected by fake shin pads; it was hard to tell how, but ice skate blades protruded from the bottoms of the feet- no boot or straps required. While the physical grotesqueness of the creature was horrible enough to make any Puckworlder gape in horror, it was the jersey that had Wildwing's absolute and utter revulsion. That exact replica of their own home jerseys bore the number 93 on the back, just below the name Wild Wing.

"Uh..." Even Nosedive was speechless at the spectacle presented to the team.

"Come on, guys," Phil pleaded. "Every team has a mascot!"

The costumed duck put one hand on a hip and pointed to Phil while nodding emphatically.

"Is that the costume you tried to make Guy Herbert wear?" Mallory demanded.

"Maybe," Phil glanced towards the ceiling and tried to look innocent. Realizing the act wouldn't work, he came clean. "We already had it and it was a shame to let it go to waste! I just had my grandma spruce it up a little bit and now we've got our very own team mascot."

"C'hyeah!" Nosedive laughed. "Wildwing!" He couldn't help it; this was a new level of strange, even for Phil.

The leader sighed and aimed his disapproving glare at the human. Oh, how he wanted to loose control and yell and rage at Phil for this. Unfortunately, desires and reality can't always coexist and he had to maintain his composure in the face of this utter humiliation.

"Phil, I am not a mascot. No."

"What?" Was that actual surprise on his face? "He's not you! This is Wild Wing, number ninety-three. It's not spelled the same and he's got his own number."

"Eh, I don't think that's a big enough difference," Duke interjected. "They still sound the same."

"We never needed one before." Grin's wisdom could always be counted on in a tough spot.

"You guys do to need one!" Phil emphatically jabbed an index finger into Grin's solar plexus. "You need something to keep the fans entertained when you guys go running off between periods to fight crime. This mascot and the ice girls will do just that. They might even be able to buy you some extra time to get back from whatever trouble you six always get in."

"Ice girls?" Wildwing rubbed his temples. He'd never suffered from headaches back on Puckworld. Now, he had a migraine named Phil to deal with at least once a week.

"Oh, great," Tanya groaned. "Like we need a bunch of fashion obsessed, airheads out there to make things more interesting."

"I dunno." The half-smile on Duke's beak could be taken one of many ways, none of them very innocent. "Might not be a bad thing to have some nice lookin' girls out there to distract the crowd."

Mallory's quickly delivered smack upside Duke's head was shrugged off with an eyebrow wiggle and cheesy smile. She growled and rolled her eyes in disgust.

"No." Wildwing shook his head back and forth, eyes closed. "No way. We are not having a mascot and we are not hiring ice girls."

"He has a point, big bro. We do cut it close sometimes."

"Well, maybe it isn't such a, you know, bad idea."

He really didn't feel like dealing with this. He shouldn't _have_ to deal with this; Phil should possess enough common sense in that small skull of his to know when Wildwing would shoot down an idea right away.

"Come on," Phil pleaded, getting down on his knees, clasped hands shaking just above his head as he begged. Within moments, the costumed Wild Wing followed suit, silently adding his own plea.

"Oh, all right." Wildwing relented. "Just, come up with something else for a mascot."

"What?" Phil was shocked. "And throw out all of Nana's hard work!" He rose to his feet with some trouble and continued to plead his case. "My sweet little granny made that costume just for you. She slaved over it for hours, working her arthritic hands to the bone, just to make you happy."

"Uh..." Not Nana! Why, oh why, did Phil have to bring his grandmother into this? "Can we at least change the name?"

"She came up with that because you're her favorite! You wouldn't want to offend her, now. Would you?"

"No. I guess not." The leader's voice was reluctant, not fully agreeing with the name.

"Remember when she made dinner for all of you when you first got here? She cooked for all of you for a week straight! You owe her!"

"He's got you there, Wing." Duke was entirely too amused by the whole situation. Either that or he was eager to be introduced to the ice girls.

The goalie's shoulders slumped in defeat. He'd never live down this humiliation. They now had a mascot, and it had his mask and name.

0000

As the fully suited up Mighty Ducks approached the ice, they noticed they were not alone. Sixteen beautiful women wearing jean short shorts and baggy, white jerseys were lined up next to the gate.

"Guys," Phil proudly stepped out onto the ice and put his arm around a blond. "I'd like you to meet The Power Players, your new ice girls."

"Hi!" One brunette over-enthusiastically waved. Her curly hair bobbed up and down with the motion.

"I'm Jasmine," the extremely busty blond Phil had his arm around introduced herself. "It's _such_ a pleasure to meet you!"

"Brittnei!" A redhead waved.

"Tiffany." The woman with dark, black hair spoke her own name alluringly.

"A pleasure," Wildwing nodded politely as he skated past the beautiful women. "I'm sure we can all get to know each other later. But, right now, we have practice."

"Don't mind him," Duke suavely took one of the girls hands in his own and bowed his head in greeting.

"Yeah, he's just sore about the whole mascot thing," Nosedive chimed in.

"Oh, brother," Mallory rolled her eyes. "Come on, Tanya. Let's go save them from themselves. Again."

Tanya shook her head in slight exasperation at the two males before she and Mallory both skated up behind them and pushed them past what was supposed to be a distraction for their fans and not themselves.

"Don't you two remember anything about Lucretia DeCoy?" Tanya admonished.

"What?" Nosedive looked over his shoulder at the blond tech who had still not released him from her surprisingly strong grip. "Doesn't hurt to be nice!"

"They're not even ducks!" Mallory nearly shrieked.

Duke broke from her grip and turned around, skating backwards and matching Mallory's pace.

"True," he chuckled a little bit. "But, I haven't met a woman yet who doesn't like being told how good she looks." That one eye glinted with mischief and narrowed a little as he leaned forward slightly. "Say, Mallory, have I told you how beautiful you are when you're angry?"

"Ooh, kay!" Phil clapped his hands and drew the attention of his Power Players away from the attempted homicide playing out before them. "How about you lovely ladies take a seat here on the player bench and we'll watch practice. When they're done, you girls can have the ice and then we'll discuss the game's opening tomorrow night."


	2. The Power Players

**10/8/2013- AN:** Short! This is supposed to be short! But, Duke and Mallory going at it is always so much fun that I can't help myself. Here be your next piece of story.

* * *

Duke and Nosedive couldn't help themselves; they had to stay and watch what the ice girls considered training. Rather than follow the rest of their team into the locker room to clean up from practice, they chose to take seats on the player bench and see what happened. Phil, in his typical cheap fashion, had neglected to hire a trainer. Why pay someone else for something he could do?

"EEEeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhh!" One of the blonds shrieked as she couldn't stop and slammed into the glass.

"Ooh, that's gotta hurt," Duke winced for her.

"No kidding." Nosedive watched the disastrous ballet taking place before him with a mixture of shock and disbelief. "Most of them can't even skate!"

"Oof!" That perky little redhead who had just been standing still suddenly found herself sitting on the ice for no good reason.

"Come on, ladies!" Phil pleaded. "It's really not that hard!" He skated over to the downed Power Player. "You okay, Brittnei?"

"I guess," she whined.

"Upsy-daisy," Phil hauled her to her feet, nearly going down himself in the process. "Now, just plant one foot and push off with it while you balance on the other." He tried to show her how to skate. She took about two strides before going down again.

"That one seems to know what she's doing," Nosedive commented as he pointed out the young woman doing backwards crossovers.

"At least a few of them do. Still, I've had enough of this. What you say we show them how to keep their feet?"

"Why not?" The young duck gave his friend a huge grin as they once more took to the ice.

"Ooh! It's Duke and Nosedive!" a high-pitched, very feminine voice practically shrieked.

Suddenly, the two ducks had all of the attention. The three who had apparently had figure skating training in the past easily stopped. Two more girls fell down and one glided to a semi-graceful stop, her arms pinwheeling as she nearly tipped over front first.

"Uh, hi," Nosedive waved.

"Looks like you lovely ladies could use a little help," Duke offered.

"Oh, really?" That adorable brunette could hardly stand still, she was so excited at the prospect of learning how to skate from a true professional.

"Yeah. We'll give you a few pointers. But first, how 'bout some names? I remember Tiffany, Brittnei, and Jasmine." He pointed to each girl as he named them. "But I didn't catch the rest."

"Let's just do this fast," Phil said. "April, Cyara, Heather, Erika and Erin," he grinned as he pointed out the two brunettes. "They're twins. Sarah S. and Sarah M., Kelley, Madelyn, Saundrine, Erina, Juliana, and Sabrina."

"Ooh, kay." Nosedive exhaled sharply as he looked at each of the girls and tried to keep names and faces straight. "Well, I guess we'd better get started. How many of you can actually skate?"

"You bet I do, handsome," Tiffany slowly glided forward, a slightly seductive smile on her lips.

"Uh, good." Nosedive tried to ignore her and looked towards the other women. "Anyone else?"

"I used to be a figure skater," Sabrina offered. Her long, wavy brown hair fell loose to mid back and she moved with a grace on the ice that almost approached the ducks own comfort on the slippery surface.

"Never had any lessons, but I'm damn good," Erina sassed. Nosedive found himself infinitely grateful that her long, wavy brown hair was a few shades lighter than Sabrina's. Other than Erina's slightly rounder face, he could barely tell the two apart. And they weren't even the twins!

"Anyone else?" Duke's one eye carefully studied the other women. They shyly shook their heads no, causing the gray drake to rest his head in his palm and mimic their negative motion. "Okay," he said after taking in a deep breath. "We'll start at the beginning then. Line up against the boards and hang on there if ya need to. I'm going to explain what you need to do and Nosedive here'll show ya how it's done."

"Just listen to Duke and Dive and you girls will be naturals in no time," the young duck promised as he flashed the girls his biggest smile while crossing his arms and striking a rather silly pose.

"Well, looks like you two have things covered here." Phil eagerly skated towards the exit. "I've got some phone calls to make!"

"Not so fast." Duke caught Phil's suit jacket collar, preventing him from leaving the rink. "You didn't hire a coach for them; you're staying and helping."

"Come on, Duke!" the portly human whined. "I've got important business deals to make."

"Oof!" Brittnei once again fell down, landing incongruously on her rear end.

"Tough." Duke let go of his manager and glided to the downed woman. "Looks like you're our first lesson, Brittnei. Come on. Let's see you get up."

Brittnei's stick straight, crimson hair fell back as she looked up at the tall drake. Smiling a bit, she stretched out a hand to him for assistance.

"Nah. I try to pick you up and you'll pull me down too. You're a big girl; I'm sure you can stand up on your own."

"Ummm... Okay." She leaned back and planted her hands on the ice behind her, then tried to get her legs underneath herself. Unfortunately, she couldn't keep her feet still on the slippery surface and kept flopping around like a caught fish, to the great amusement of Duke and Nosedive.

"That's not going to work," Nosedive quipped with a big smirk on his face.

"Okay, change in lesson plan here." Duke glanced over to Nosedive, who was standing next to him. "Lesson one, falling." He moved his leg over and behind Nosedive's, then brought it sharply forward, pressing his knee into the back of the youth's. The blond duck fell hard as his leg was pulled out from under him.

"Very funny, Duke." He glared up at his teammate and tried to kick out his feet.

"Nice try," the former thief laughed as he hopped up into the air, easily avoiding the attempt at pulling him to the ice. "As I'm sure you could all see, Nosedive landed on his tail feathers. That's where ya want to fall if you can. Either there or your hip. Ya got padding back there, so use it. Now," he looked down at his friend, "Would you care to show the ladies how to get up?"

Rolling his eyes and sighing loudly, Nosedive shifted forward so he was on all fours. Going slowly and exaggerating his movements, he fisted his hands on the surface for balance and picked up one foot, then the other. Once he had both feet firmly planted, he easily stood up, once again exaggerating how much he was bending his knees.

"See? Easy." Crossing his arms, he glared at Duke.

"Now you, sweetheart," the gray drake waved a casual hand towards the fallen human, inviting her to try.

Brittnei followed Nosedive's example and rolled over so she was on all fours. Her fingers were spread wide across the frozen surface as she tried to keep her balance and get her feet under her.

"Keep your hands in fists," Nosedive reminded.

"Why?" Cyara questioned. "I mean, wouldn't it just be easier to plant your whole hand down?"

"Sure," Duke agreed. "Course, you're likely to loose a finger if ya try it that way. You girls don't exactly have a lot of control out here yet."

"Oh." Brittnei quickly made fists, protecting her precious digits from any wayward skate blades. After a couple of failed attempts, she finally managed to raise unsteadily to her feet and remain there.

"Good. Now, stopping." Duke motioned to Nosedive, who quickly backed away and eyed him warily. "We'll just show you three basic stops. Snowplow, T-stop, and hockey stop."

"Do we really have to sit here and watch this?" Sabrina complained. "I mean, seriously! This is, like, totally basic little kid stuff."

"Fine," Duke shrugged. "You don't want our help, you can teach each other."

"Hah!" Mallory's harsh laugh echoed throughout the arena. "I've seen new-hatch's that can skate better than this lot." The redhead stepped onto the ice, skate blades extending from the bottom of her boots. She had changed into her more casual gear and was wearing her lavender leggings and halter top with a short, violet jacket.

"Oh, and I suppose you're a better teacher than us?" Nosedive challenged.

"Who said anything about teaching?" Mallory laughed. "I'm just here for the show."

"Glad we can be of some amusement to you," Erika finally spoke up, sarcasm dripping from her voice like a freezing rain.

"Yeah. It's not like we're going to be embarrassing the team in front of thousands of fans tomorrow night or anything," Erin added for her twin.

"Don't let me stop you," Mallory smiled. "Carry on."

"Like I was sayin' before we were so rudely interrupted," Duke continued. "Stopping. Snowplow is probably going to be easiest for you lot. Just widen your stance and turn your toes in towards each other."

Mallory glided past Duke and tapped him on the shoulder.

"What?" He frowned at her.

"Might want to tell them how to get going first," she called over her shoulder as she gracefully sailed away, granting the gray drake a full view of her backside.

"Whatever," he muttered. "Nosedive, if you'll be so kind as to demonstrate snowplow?"

Mallory circled slowly and came to a full stop at the opposite end of the red line to watch. Amusement at the whole situation was painted all over her face.

Nosedive shrugged and glided forward a little without much of a push off, turned his toes inward, and came to a rather lackluster stop.

"Okay, now you lovely ladies give it a shot," Duke encouraged.

Most of the girls pushed themselves away from the boards and attempted the extremely simple stop. Sabrina, Tiffany, and Erina looked extremely bored, but followed directions anyway. The rest pretty much came to a stop from lack of momentum more than from actually moving their feet properly.

"Oh, please," Mallory scoffed. "All right!" Her voice instantly slipped into military command mode. "I want you sorry excuses for skaters on the red line. Now!"

"Uh-oh." Nosedive knew that tone of voice. He began heading for the gate when Duke stopped him.

"I'm not dealing with The Drill Sergeant alone," he hissed.

Nine of the sixteen humans managed to make it to the red line dividing the rink in half and lined up an arms width apart. The other five carefully walked across the ice, picking up each foot and placing it inches in front of the other before taking the next step.

"I don't care if you have to crawl on your hands and knees. You will be on the red line in the next five seconds!"

"Eep!" Brittnei once more introduced her rear end to the ice.

"One!"

The redhead rolled over onto her hands and knees.

"Two!"

She quickly crawled to the line.

"Three!"

The downed human then kept her hands in fists as she carefully pulled her feet under her one at a time.

"Four!"

She stood, wavered, and kept her balance.

"Good." Mallory skated up and down the line, carefully studying each girl. She looked them in the eye, gauging who had the guts to stand up to her or not.

"Oh man," Nosedive laughed quietly. "Look at them, all lined up like good little soldiers."

"Didn't think Brittnei could move that fast." Duke crossed his arms as he watched Mallory take over the impromptu lesson.

"First off," Mallory imperiously demanded. "After practice, you will all go to the sporting goods store and get yourselves some figure skates. None of you are balanced enough to be able to handle hockey skates yet. You," Mallory pointed to Sabrina, "are exempt from that. You're the only one smart enough to bring her own skates here and not rely on Phil to provide you with whatever he had laying around."

Phil tried to hide behind Duke and Nosedive in order to escape the death glare Mallory threw his way.

"Now, bend your knees, and reach your arms out." Mallory bent her knees and dropped into a deep squat, balancing herself with her outstretched arms. "Keep your feet parallel, weight centered over your heels. Make sure your knees bend over your first and second toe. Butt down and back straight." She held the position for several seconds as the girls tried to mimic her movements. "Now, stand up."

Each of the Power Players did their best to follow Mallory's instructions, some more successfully than others.

"And again."

"Excuse me, sweetheart. But, what's the point of this? I mean, I enjoy watching women work out as much as the next drake, but I don't see how this is going to get them skating any faster."

Emerald eyes rolling at Duke's comment, Mallory crossed her arms and faced him.

"Have you ever had to learn how to skate while carrying an extra hundred and fifty pounds?"

"Uh, no. But that don't mean I can't."

"Well, I have. And it's a lot different than regular skating. Hell, I could carry Nosedive all around this rink and he's a good fifty pounds heavier than me without all that padding on!"

"No way!" Nosedive quickly backed away. He knew Mallory too well. If she were pushed far enough, he wouldn't put it past her to actually prove that she could do what she was claiming. And knowing Duke, he'd keep prodding just to see how far he could get before the right wing snapped.

"What's that go to do with learning how to skate in the first place?" Duke narrowed his eye, studying his teammate.

"Everything. Better balance, more strength, and a hell of a lot more endurance. These girls are going to learn how to skate like they're in the Special Forces and not from some two-bit crook and a kid."

"Two-bit-" Duke sputtered, anger flaring momentarily before vanishing beneath his calm indifference. "Ah," he spat. "You just don't understand anything that's not military."

"Listen," Mallory sighed. "You boys just run along and I'll take over here. Phil, you _will_ hire a coach for them. I suggest you get started now." That overly pleasant smile paired with the suggestion sent Phil scrambling for his phone.

"Hey, we were here first," Duke loomed over Mallory, staring her down.

"So? Deal with it, L'Orange." She brushed off his attempt at intimidation like it was dirt on her boot.

"Are we going to have to listen to you two fight for the rest of the day?" Erina complained. The tall girl casually flipped her hazel hair back over her shoulder with an air of utter boredom.

"Get used to it," Nosedive joked as he skated backwards behind the girls in an attempt to remain out of Mallory's line of sight.

"Look," Sabrina broke in. "I appreciate you three trying to help us and everything; but, Phil is really our boss. Shouldn't we be taking direction from him?"

"Phil?" Duke almost choked on his laughter. "You listen to him and all you'll end up is embarrassed and poor."

"As if he knows anything about skating!" Mallory added, agreeing with Duke. Amazingly, all traces of perceived animosity that the humans had observed vanished.

"Well," Sabrina continued. "Since I clearly know how to skate, do you mind if I, like, split? I've got a hair appointment in a couple of hours and I want to go shopping first."

"No," Mallory refused. "You're going to stay and work with your team. Teammates don't abandon each other, no matter how badly they might want to."

"Come on," she whined, her face crinkling into a pouty frown. "Please?"

"Okay," Mallory's smile was one the rest of the Mighty Ducks had learned to avoid at all costs. Someone was likely to end up humiliated or running for their life. "If you can do something out here that I can't, you can go." She glanced at the rest of the girls. "Same goes for all of you. If you can do something on the ice that I can't, take the afternoon off."

"Fine," Sabrina smirked.

The leggy human broke from the line and picked up speed, gliding towards one of the face off circles in the far corner. She turned around, skating backwards, and stretched out one leg back. Collecting herself, she rocketed that leg down and launched herself into the air, spinning around once and coming down in a perfect landing. As she returned to the red line, she came to a neat hockey stop, spraying a little ice on Mallory's legs.

"So, you can do an axel jump," Mallory mocked. "Big deal. Back in line." The command was reinforced with a slight nod of the head.

"I don't believe you." Sabrina put her hands on her hips and stared down at the shortest of the Mighty Ducks. "You say you can do it? Prove it."

"I don't have to prove myself to you. I know what I can do."

"Yeah, well, I think you're full of it," the human jeered. "Hockey players don't know the first thing about ice dancing. So, either you do it, or I'm outta here."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Duke quickly grabbed Mallory's upper arm and pulled her away before she did something she might regret.

The lone female duck pulled her arm from Duke's grasp with a rough shake of her shoulder. She glared at him, daring him to touch her again.

"Hey, you're the one who lay the challenge. Gonna be chicken bout it?"

"Can it, Duke." She had clearly been pushed past that line Nosedive had feared earlier. "All right, give me some space," she spoke to the humans still lined up. "Go on, get back along the boards."

Mallory quickly skated to one end of the rink and circled the net before placing herself neatly in the corner. One finger tapped on her thigh, keeping time to some unheard music. After a moment, she raised up on her toe picks and started a very complicated footwork passage, gracefully twisting and turning, feet crossing in front of and behind each other with the speed and precision of an Irish step dancer. Picking up the pace, she added in a couple of short spins before again returning to the intricate ballet of skates and ice. Just before she reached the goal crease at the opposite side of the rink, she changed direction slightly to avoid the net and launched herself into the air, spinning around neatly three times before landing perfectly on one leg and gathering herself for a follow-up double axel. Having proven her point, she returned to the line of humans. Nosedive's open mouthed amazement gave her a great surge of satisfaction while Duke's gaze remained unreadable.

"Whoa," Nosedive complimented.

"Interesting modifications," Duke added nonchalantly.

"Modifications?" Mallory pretended ignorance.

"Yeah. That was a bit from Nova and Nitin's routine in the World Game's back in 4017, if I'm not mistaken."

"You're not." She frowned, perplexed that he'd recognize the routine in the few steps she'd shown. Beyond that, it was a routine intended for two and she had modified it to eliminate the lifts. "How'd you know?"

"There's a lot bout me you don't know, sweetheart. You ever feel like doing that dance the justice it deserves, I'd be happy to partner ya." She'd seen that suave smirk before and hated it as much now as when she first met him.

"I'm sure you would." The twist of her own beak and tilt of her head showed an almost disdainful recognition of the underlying motive. Nova and Nitin's ice dance included some pretty intimate holds and lifts. Rather than take her ire out on Duke, who would only continue to stand there with that obnoxiously-smug smile on his face, she turned her attention back to the original reason for returning to the ice.

"Now," Mallory demanded, once again slipping back into the role of coach like it was a comfortable robe. "Anyone else care to try?" When nobody would meet her eye, she nodded once. "That's what I thought. Now, get back on that red line. I hear one more word of complaint from any of you and you're all going to be running laps around the hallways until I'm tired. And, considering I'll be riding the golf cart, it will take a long time for me to get tired."

The girls all silently nodded, finally learning to fear the wrath of Puckworld's finest soldier.

Duke had to admit, once Mallory got her temper out of the way, she was an excellent teacher. These girls just might learn enough about skating if they listened to the three ducks. Praying they wouldn't irritate the right wing again, he and Nosedive continued to help.


	3. Daphne Duck

10/12/2013- **AN: **See? Short! Just like I promised.

* * *

"Hey! Wildwing!" an unfamiliar, decidedly female voice called to the team leader. "Wait up!"

The white drake paused and turned around to see who was calling him. He'd been set on going out for a bit and having a little time to himself for a change. Now, someone else wanted his attention.

He was almost horrified to see the monstrous mascot jogging down the concrete hallway towards him. The blades of the ice skates clinked softly with each step, adding an almost musical quality to the gangly run.

"Thanks for waiting," the feminine voice said from behind that misshapen head. "It's not that easy to run around in this thing." She reached up and removed the costumed head, revealing a pretty, young woman. Her blond hair was tied back in a neat bun and her green eyes sparkled with a mischief Wildwing recognized all to well. "I'm Daphne," she introduced herself as she propped the costume head on one hip and extended her right hand.

"Hello." Wildwing wasn't exactly sure what she wanted, but was willing to wait around and see where this conversation led.

"I just wanted to say thank you. I really need this job and I was sure you'd tell Phil to shove it when you saw the costume."

"I still could." Oh, how he wanted to. But, he'd given the okay and he never went back on his word. "But, I probably won't."

"You're sure you're okay with it?" She really seemed to care what he thought about the whole situation, despite the fact that she would loose this job if he changed his mind.

"Phil said Nana made the costume. I can't really hurt her feelings. She did a lot for us when we first got here."

"I can totally see her doing that. She's a crazy old coot."

"You have no idea." Wildwing couldn't help but smile at the memory for Phil's little, old grandmother who had adopted the entire team as her own bubala's. They'd been confused by the word until Phil explained that it was a Yiddish term of endearment, typically used by grandmothers to their grandchildren. Why Phil insisted on using it when trying to convince him of something, Wildwing still couldn't figure out.

"Well, I was wondering," Daphne bobbed her head a little, her mouth crooked to one side as she studied the team captain. "Is there anything you do or don't want me to do as the mascot? I mean, I do kinda look like you and the names are way too similar for my taste."

"Um..." Wildwing scratched his head a little as he thought. "Just be professional about it, I guess." It was really hard to come up with an answer to that question on the spot. It only took seconds for him to think of a plan in battle; now, he was at a complete loss for how to deal with a costumed portrayal of himself.

"This is my first time as a mascot, so I'm kind of learning as I go. Don't worry, I'll try not to do anything that would embarrass you! Beyond existing, that is."

"You're existence isn't an embarrassment," Wildwing smiled. "The costume, however..."

She laughed and shifted the bulbous head around a little.

"I am curious about one thing," he said as he studied the orange feet. "How are those skates on there?"

"Oh! Easy." She set the head on the floor and leaned on the wall for support as she removed one of the fabric goal pads. Once the cover had been removed, lacing was clearly visible on the costumed shin. "The whole orange part of the leg is a boot."

"That makes sense." Now that he studied the outfit a little closer, he had to admit that he was impressed with the craftsmanship that went into it. Nana had done a spectacular job with modifying the suit to fit Daphne. It was tailored enough to allow her to move with minimal restrictions, yet still resembled a cartoonized version of a duck. "And the gloves?"

Still smiling, Daphne held up a hand. It looked like she had four fingers, just like the rest of the team.

"She made them special. I just keep my middle and ring fingers together and, voila, instant duck hands." She laughed again and shook her head. "It does make it a little weird to hold a hockey stick, though. I have no idea how Phil expects me to play street hockey in this thing. I guess I'll just have to practice."

"Wait a minute. Street hockey?" What kind of trouble was Phil cooking up now?

"He didn't tell you? He wants me to represent the team on a street hockey league during the off season. I'm totally cool with the idea, but playing goalie in this is going to be tough."

"Seriously?" Just when he was beginning to accept the idea of the mascot, he'd found yet another level of Phil's depravity.

"Since I already play goalie in a street hockey league, it's not that big a stretch."

"How long have you been playing hockey?"

"Oh, since I was about thirteen. I used to want to be a figure skater but puberty kind of killed that dream." She had to silently laugh to herself at the duck's sudden discomfort. "My legs grew faster than the rest of me and I became totally uncoordinated. Rather than give up entirely, I switched to hockey. I started street hockey when my rink had to close down for repairs and haven't gone back since. It's so much nicer to play outside in the sun!"

"Can't blame you there." Playing hockey outside was definitely one of the things he missed about Puckworld.

"Yeah. At least that will be during the summer break, so it won't interfere with my college classes."

"Wait. You're in college? Won't this whole job be a problem?" Despite never having attended higher education himself, he knew how time consuming college could be.

"Nope! I do everything online. I can totally keep up with my classes during road trips and everything. Besides, I really, really need this job. College ain't cheap!"

"No, I suppose it isn't."

"I guess I should let you get going now. You're probably pretty busy and I don't want to keep you. Besides, I've got to go do some test runs of the pre-game show for tomorrow night. Nice meeting you!"

"You too." Wildwing had to shake his head in bewilderment at the strange encounter. Even if the whole costume thing was a horrible idea, at least the girl portraying him seemed nice enough.

The white duck consciously pushed away thoughts of the new mess his manager had made for him as he exited the Pond and entered the sunlight. The whole afternoon was wide open for anything he wanted to do, providing Dragaunus stayed silent. A swim in the ocean sounded like heaven and he was in a mood to indulge himself a little bit.

* * *

**AN:** In the exciting conclusion of Wild Wing: Team Mascot, you'll finally get to meet Phil's Nana!


	4. Roast Duck

10/24/2013 Here ya go, the conclusion of Wildwing's embarrassment!

Sorry it took a little longer than I thought it would. I've been extremely distracted with my next story, Truth Will be Told. I will be participating in NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) this year. The goal is a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. This past month has been spent working on the outline and plot of Truth Will be Told. Truth Will be Told is the story of Duke's past; it will explore the many different types of love and ask the question of how far someone is willing to go for their soul mate. Nothing will be posted for the month of November as I will be focused solely on writing and not editing/correcting. As chapters are edited, they will be posted through the month of December.

Thanks for sticking with me through this story and I look forward to seeing you all again in December!

* * *

"Whoo! Dance par-tay!" Nosedive bounced around the locker room, dancing to the techno music echoing throughout the arena. He still hadn't put his jersey on, but was otherwise ready to hit the ice and cream the competition.

Wildwing laughed and shook his head as he pulled his suspenders over his shoulders and smoothed them down under his chest protector. Nosedive's pre-game antics were always a welcome distraction. Besides that, Nosedive's dancing was good luck for the team; the more energetic the dance, the bigger a margin for their wins.

"Come on, Mallory! Dance with me!" The youth spun around and landed next to his teammate. Spreading his arms wide, he bobbed back and forth in time to the music, shaking his shoulders and hips.

The redhead smiled and instantly joined in, putting one hand on her head and the other on a hip as she began rhythmically moving in time to the music.

Never one to be left out of the fun, Duke grabbed his jersey and began swinging it around in a circle above his head. He jumped around, whooping and spinning, displaying just as much energy as his decade-younger teammate.

"You too, Wing!" Nosedive grabbed his brother's arms and tried pulling him into a mockery of a square dance. However, attempting skipping do-si-do's while wearing ice skates was extremely difficult and ended up with both Flashblade's tumbling to the floor.

Wildwing seized the opportunity and attacked his sibling's rather ticklish sides in retaliation for the incongruous fall.

Nosedive gasped in laughter before rolling away and once again gaining his feet. Shaking his posterior in front of his brother's face, he once again began dancing. Making his way over to Tanya and Grin, he pulled them into the impromptu party as well.

"Ah, my katchka's!" an elderly female voice laughed as the door to the locker room opened, revealing a very short, old woman. Her curly, bright red-orange hair flared around her head in a fine halo. Deep wrinkles in her face hid sparkling, brown eyes as she smiled broadly. Pushing the walker in front of her, she entered into the fray, pausing to shake her hips in time to the music and dance as best she could.

"Nana!" Nosedive broke from his baltering and rushed over to give the diminutive human a big hug.

"Nosedive," she smiled. "You dance with all the grace of a drunk swine."

"Hah!" Wildwing tried to hide his laugh and failed miserably.

"Come on," Nana waved the leader over. "Give your Nana a hug."

He didn't have to be asked twice. Bending down, the large drake carefully enveloped her in his arms, grateful that not all Palmfeather's were like Phil.

"Duke?" Nana raised an eyebrow at him as she spread her arms wide.

"How could I say no to such a charming lady?" The one-eyed duck accepted her embrace with gusto.

Before letting her feathered thief go, she quickly planted a big kiss on his cheek, followed up by a vigorous rubbing as she tried to wipe off the crimson lipstick she'd left there.

Sputtering in surprise, Duke backed up and went to find a mirror. He had a reputation to keep up and appearing out on the ice with lipstick would only get the rumor mill going full force.

It didn't take long for the rest of the ducks to greet their adopted grandmother with a hug.

"I didn't expect to see you here tonight," Wildwing said.

"And miss your reaction to that monstrosity Phil asked me to make? I wouldn't miss it for all the pie in Amsterdam!"

"Monstrosity?" Now the goalie was confused. "I thought you'd be proud of all the work you put into that costume. You did a really good job on the boots and gloves."

"Bah!" Nana snorted in derision. "That thing's uglier than a wart on a rhino's butt and should be burned."

"Can we?" Nosedive asked hopefully.

"Absolutely not!" Nana's eyes widened at the very suggestion. "It took me two months to make that thing and Daphne's a good girl. She needs this job, even if she has to pretend to be some ridiculous version of Wildwing."

"I'm sure the crowd will love it," Mallory offered halfheartedly. She didn't like the new mascot any more than the rest of the team, but she too loved Phil's grandmother and didn't want to offend her.

A loud buzzer echoed throughout the room, signaling that it was time for the team to make their way to the rink. Nosedive and Duke quickly put their jerseys on while Wildwing grabbed the mask from his shelf and placed the sacred object on his face.

"I would be honored to assist you to your private box," Grin offered.

"Pfft! I'm not going to watch you from that stupid little room way up by the ceiling," she waved off the large drake. "Phil cleared it with the refs and I'm sitting on your player bench. Better view that way." The half hidden smile playing on her lips suggested the view wasn't all she was interested in when it came to her choice of seats.

"What about your arthritis?" Tanya asked as they walked down the tunnel, the ducks all slowing their pace to match the elderly human's. "Won't the cold bother you?"

"I have plenty of blankets and hot coffee to keep me warm. Besides," her eyes lit up as she laughed, "I want to give those Maple Leaf's an ear full every time they come near the bench."

Duke chuckled quietly to himself. He'd known his share of colorful characters back on Puckworld, Darkfeather being the worst. Nana reminded him of a cleaned up version of his former mentor. They both shared a humorous temper that resulted in the most ridiculously amusing insults he'd ever heard. Having Nana sitting on the bench would be as much a distraction for him as for the other team. He couldn't wait to hear what she would throw at them.

The roar of the crowd and blaring music was deafening as the group emerged from the player tunnel. The arena was darkened for the pregame show with circling spotlights providing the majority of the illumination. Neon lights proclaiming _Ducks Rock! _flashed on the jumbotron.

Twelve of the ice girls were lined up on either side of the gate that granted players entrance onto the ice. The attractive young women wore jean short-shorts and over-sized jerseys. They held purple glow sticks, which they swung around energetically as they waited for each player to skate out.

"And now," the announcer's voice boomed over the loudspeakers. "Your Mighty Ducks! Playing in center, it's number thirteen, Duke L'Orange!"

Duke skated past the girls, throwing a wink to Brittnei at the end as he entered the arena to the loud cheers of his fans.

"Number fifteen, playing right wing, Mallory McMallard!"

Mallory took to the ice, completely ignoring the humans lined up to either side of her as she joined Duke in circling the perimeter of the rink.

Wildwing ignored the announcements, knowing that he would be introduced last. Instead, he took the opportunity to make sure Nana was settled comfortably on the player bench. The white drake moved her walker out of the way and leaned it against the wall after folding it closed.

"Need anything else?" he asked as Tanya was introduced. Next up would be Grin, then him.

"Give 'em hell," Nana grinned wickedly as reached up and pulled him into another hug. "And don't let them give you hell about that stupid mascot."

"Don't worry," he smiled back. "I will and I won't!"

"Finally," the booming voice of their announcer once again stole Wildwing's attention. "The team captain and goalie, number zero zero, Wildwing Flashblade!"

The masked duck stepped out onto the ice, completely comfortable on the slick surface and eager for the coming competition. He raised his goal stick in acknowledgment of the crowd's roars of encouragement.

The six ducks continued to slowly circle the rink before gathering near their goal to wait for the culmination of the pregame show: the introduction of their new mascot.

"And tonight, for the first time," the announcer continued. "We have a new duck taking to the ice. They share the same hockey position, they both wear goal masks, and their names sound alike…"

Three of the ice girls pushed out a large, black box to center ice as two more followed with a trampoline while the announcer talked up the mascot. Tiffany and Sabrina wore short, black skirts with matching, midriff bearing tops. They each held flaming batons, which they swung in expert circles as they danced on either side of the box. Brittnei pushed a button on the box and a wall of flame erupted.

"It's the new mascot, Wild Wing!"

At the final introduction, Daphne, dressed in the new costume, skated onto the ice and towards the flaming circle. A spotlight followed her progress as she approached the ring of fire. Reaching the trampoline, she jumped onto it and fell forward, doing a grand belly-flop onto the burning box. One of the ice girls quickly pressed the button again, extinguishing the flames as the other girls and Mighty Ducks raced to the downed mascot.

"Daffy, you damned fool!" Nana's voice echoed across the ice. "You're supposed to be Wildwing, not Nosedive!"

The costumed Wild Wing jumped up with the help of Tiffany and Brittnei, patted over his stomach as if inspecting for damage, then raised both arms in the air in victory as if the jump had been successful. On a second thought, he kicked the now extinguished box of flames for good measure before following the Power Players off the ice.

"Did she just call that mascot Daffy?" Mallory asked, an eyebrow raised as she looked towards the others for confirmation.

"Yeah!" Nosedive laughed. "Phil gave us Daffy Duck for a mascot!"

"Somehow, I don't think Daphne will mind that nickname," Wildwing grinned. He glanced over towards the tunnel where the girls and mascot were gathered, waiting for the paramedics to come over and check for any damage. Wild Wing raised a his hand in an okay to let the team know no harm had been done.

"Get on with it!" Nana yelled from her seat. "We've already had one roast duck. Now let's get this show on the road before I decide to start making pancakes out of those Maple Leaf's myself!"

"It's going to be a looooooooong game." Tanya shook her head in amused disbelief at the elderly lady sitting on their bench.

"Maybe," Duke smirked as they all skated towards their starting positions. "But it won't be boring!"

* * *

**End AN:** As much as I would like to take credit for the idea of trying to burn the mascot, I can't. This actually happened the night Wild Wing was introduced to the public! Check out youtube for "Wild Wing jumps into a pit of fire" for the video :)

Now, I'm a person with a vocabulary and I enjoy using words that other people might not know. Why? Because our language is a grand, large thing and shouldn't be limited to the few words we restrict ourselves to. I used to dumb down my stories and the way I spoke because people wouldn't always understand me. But, no more! Now, I will use the words I have and gladly share their meaning! Here are the definitions for two of the words I used that you most likely wouldn't know the definitions of:

Katchka- Yiddish for duck

Balter- verb. To dance artlessly, without particular skill or grace, but usually with enjoyment


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